Two boys find mastodon bone in Shelby Township backyard

In an undated photo provided by the Cranbrook Institute of Science, Eric Stamatin, left, and Andrew Gainariu stand outside the museum in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Stamatin, 11, of Shelby Township, and his cousin, Andrew Gainariu, also 11, of Troy, found the mastodon bone over the summer while exploring in Eric's backyard near a stream in the 24 Mile and Dequindre area. "At first it just looked like a rock, but it had a hole in it so we thought maybe it was a bone," Eric said. A research scientist with the Institute confirmed the fossil the boys stumbled across was an axis bone of the extinct American mastodon. (AP Photo/Cranbook Institute of Science, HONS)

Eric Stamatin and his cousin, Andrew Gainariu, like to explore the area around a creek near Eric's Shelby Township home. On occasion, they discover some objects boys might consider treasures.

So when the 11-year-olds brought home an unusual bone one day last summer, Eric's mother, Cristina, wasn't surprised.

"I said, 'Oh, no. Another thing,'" she recalled. "'This must be a sheep bone or something.'"

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Think bigger, mom. And older.

After consulting with experts at the Cranbrook Institute of Science, the boys and their families learned this week that the bone they discovered near 24 Mile and Dequindre roads came from an American Mastodon, a now-extinct species that roamed these parts some 150 centuries ago.

"At first, it looked like a rock, but it had a hole in it, so we thought maybe it was a bone," Eric said.

And what a bone.

"The bone is likely between 13,000 and 14,000 years old and is the fourth record of the American Mastodon from Macomb County," said John Zawiskie, a geologist from the Cranbrook Institute of Science.

Zawiskie identified the boys' find as an axis bone, one of two specialized vertebrae that attached the animal's spinal column to its brain.

"Judging from the size of this find, the animal was probably an adult around eight or nine feet high at the shoulders and weighing roughly six tons," Zawiskie said.

Although the boys found the bone several months ago, Cranbrook officials only recently confirmed the find. Cristina takes the blame for the delay.

Eric's father, Rica, a physician, speculated early that the bone was unusual, but Cristina's admitted a lack of diligence in contacting the science facility.

"I had been kind of putting it off," she said.

But when she finally sent a picture of the bone to Zawiskie, "about an hour later, he was at our house," Cristina said.

Assisted by Eric and Andrew, a team from Cranbrook explored the area near the stream further, but turned up no additional bones. Still, Zawiskie was thrilled with what they discover.

"This is awesome," he said. "For two kids to find it in their subdivision is pretty startling."

Zawiskie said remains of more than 211 mastodons have been discovered in the southern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula - so much so the animal has been deemed Michigan's state fossil.

The mastodons became extinct along with other large mammals at the end of the last glacial period about 10,000 years ago.

The Cranbook Institute of Science maintains a permanent exhibit on mastodons. The facility is located 39221 Woodward Ave., Bloomfield Hills. For hours, admission prices and additional information, call (248) 645-3200 or visit the institute's Website at http://science.cranbrook.edu.